"The Rise of the American Anti-Hero"

The Question: What historical factors influenced the rise of the American Anti-Hero in cinema and how does this hero contradict the Classic Hollywood Ideology.

The land of the brave, eh? The anti-hero, in America in particular, has become more and more popular as the classic, if not cliche, concept of hero versus villain. These anti-heroes are not considered to have the qualities of any old hero, evidentally because they are the "anti-". Therefore, what makes them the anti-hero is because, in my opinion, they are working toward some personal goal in which they reflect some qualities of a hero, such as bravery. In the film we just watched in class, "Taxi Driver," Travis Bickle, played by none other than Robert De Niro, shows no signs of heroism, which is implied strongly by the title.

However, this is a war veteran we are talking about and the film shows traces of the elements of a Western, so while Travis is quite frankly pathetic, murderous in thoughts and later actions, and in no way someone a little kid dreams of going up to be, he does reach his personal goal of helping the prostitute get her life back. We are awe-inspired by Travis, but disgusted at the same time when we see the idea of his greater good, attempting to kill of Palantine. This is a common theme throughout anti-heroes in American films: the protagonist offers a set of two-faced poignancy in which he possesses the qualities of a true hero and then brings in the "anti-" by doing something stupid, disgusting, or horrific.

Henneberry says that "The anti-hero became a darker, edgier character, who was just as confused as the average American." A war veteran forced to go back to normal life without any real purpose is enough cause to try to find a purpose. Such characters could relate to the audience because, much like Steve McQueen was described in the article, they were realistic without being fluffed up in order to be called a hero. This contributed greatly to the rise while leaving room behind to discover an actual moral even though the anti-hero may have very few.

Films like "Damsel in Distress" are ideal for the Classic Hollywood Ideology because they go with the same old story of the hero rescuing the damsel while meeting obstacles on the way. This contradicts what a anti-hero stands for in many cases. While this contrasts with realism in terms of cinematography, as films are becoming more and more formalist, it connects to realism in terms of reality.

What could cause such an awakening? WWII caused a lot of damage for the US, especially compared to WWI, because US morale was lowered by such events as Pearl Harbor. This event, in line with the events of war following, changed the US forever. This was one factor in the rise of the anti-hero.

Another reason is that they wanted themselves to be reflected in film through the use of characters that went against the norm much like Americans rebelled against the status quo. The generation that came out of WWI America was one of rebellion (i.e. teenage rebellion) during the 1960s, which was when anti-hero films became very popular. This generation didn't want to have to live in such a society that caused the US to be involved in something as horrific as WWII.

The third factor also related to being realistic; having human heroes to represent humans "who were true representations of life, who were faulty and vulnerable, like America's real life heroes." It is a salute to our soldiers in the war. What is interesting is how this anti-hero trend has lived on to the present, perhaps because of other wars giving a new cause for nationalism, such as in Vietnam and Iraq.

The fourth and final reason is that audiences wanted an accurate portrayal of the American spirit, its culture, without any polishing to go along. This goes along with rebellion because it tells telling the world "Hey. We're American and proud! What are you gonna do about it?" Establishing such as sense of nationalism through film was key in maintaining morale even after the war with its devastating effects on the whole world.

The darker side of the idea of an anti-hero mascot for the US is that it is an accurate represenation of America as a whole. The anti-hero is not a perfect hero but a regular person who can be very violent or merely unpleasant but for some glowing moments of acting heroically, although sometimes not inentionally, such as when De Niro tried to kill himself after murdering many people in'Taxi Driver".

Nonetheless, the negative side of these characters acts as a reflection of American atrocities, such as with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That is something the US cannot deny and it was such a large event in American history, so it was bound to have its effect on the anti-hero.

Overall, to answer the question, the rise of the American anti-hero was influenced by WWII and events following so that it turned the Classic Hollywood Ideology of a perfect hero into the anti-hero, which was more emotionally accessible to Americans and a more realistic view of America for Americans in terms of self-identification, as well as for the world.